Leaf-spring spreader.



A. E. FINERUD.

LEAF SPRING SPHEADE APPLICATION. FILED FEB. 15, 9

1 ,279,528. PatentedSept. 24, 1491.8..

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ARTHUR E. FINERUD, or LANEsBoRo, MINNESOTA, AssIGNon To EDWARD E.

FINERUD, or LANEsBoRo, MINNESOTA. j j

` ma:'nF-SPRING SPREADER. y

Application tiled February 15, 1917, Serial No. 148,766. y

` To all whom tmay concern:

Be it known that I, `ARTHUR E. FINERUD, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Lanesboro, in the county of Fillmore and State ofMinnesota, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Leaf.

Spring Spreaders, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention vrelates to a device for spreadin apart the leaveso-a multileaf spring tor the purpose of lubricating and cleansing thelatter.

An object of the present invention is to provide a spreader of thischaracter with a pivoted jaw, the latter being so constructed'that whenmoved into engagement lwith the spring it will be held yieldingly fromswinging past the center of its pivot in either direction, and may beswung into and out of operation in either direction.

The invention further aims `at the provision of a spreader having awedge jaw for engagement between the leaves of the.v

spring, and to provide thel jaw with means for directing and conveying alubricant into the space between the spread-apart leaves of the spring.

The above, and various other objects and advantages of this inventionwill be in part described, and in partv understood, from the followingdetailed disclosure of the presthe spring when the spreaderis appliedthereto.

Fig. 4' is atransverse 'section taken on the line 1 -tof Fig. 1, lookingin the direction of the arrows and showing the construction of thepivoted oil-feeding jaw.

Referring to this drawing, 10 designates the body part o r yoke of thespreader which is substantially U-shaped, and having on one -upturned'.,arm the Vlongitudinally ar ranged bearing 11. f

The opposite upturned arm of the yoke 10 is provided with a post orpivot pin 12 and an vlannular vshoulder or seat 13 surrounding lthebaseofthe post. The outer extremity of the post .12 is reduced and eX-ternally screw-threaded toV provide a shank or projection upon which maybe detachably carried a'clamping nut 14 or the like.'

The body part 10 carries in its opposite end `a fixed jaw 15 and amovable or clamping jaw 16. The jaw 15 is in the form of a taperinghardened end constituting` the inner terminal of an elongated set-screw17,

provided with an enlarged knurled or otherj wise suitably roughened head18 at its outer end. 'The set-screw l17 is providedI with a lock-nut 19threaded upon theset-.screw between the bearing 11 and the head 18, andadapted to bejammedagainst the outer end of the bearing 11 to lock theset-screw v17 when adjusted.

Thev movable jaw 16 'is in the form of a -wedge constituting the innerextremity of a lever 20 which' is apertured intermediate its ends forpivotal engagement; upon the post `12. The wedge jaw 16 issubstantially. chisel shaped and'lprovided with a straight-linesprmg-engagingedge 21 and upper and lower substantial y flat convergingfaces.v 'The outer end of theleverv .20 is provided with a handleportion 22 of any suitable configuration,r` and which is Preferablyoffset from` the pivoted lportion 'of the lever 20. The head 18, thelocking nut 19, and the handle 22 are preferably provided with knurledor milled surfaces to afford a firm gripping of the same by the ingersand the hand for manipulating the various parts of the spreader. n

The retaining nut 14 is provided at its inner end with an annular flange23 of substantially the vdiameter of the .base flange 13 of the-yoke,and which isheld in spaced relation lwith respect tothe base flange 13`by lmeans of a shoulder 24 formed annularly around the inner end of theshank Patented sept. 24,1918. 4

ef the post 1Q. The lever 2O is provided with opposed [iat faces adaptedfor engagement against the flanges 13 and 23, and the lever 20 may beplaced on the post 12 in the position shown in the drawings, or thelever may be reversed, if so desired.

The movable jaw 16 is provided in one or both sides with an oil-receivinand conveying channel or recess 25 which extend to, and interrupts thestraight-line edge 21 of the movable jaw.

verging opposed faces of the .wedge-shaped jaw 16, and are preferablyenlarged at their outer ends for the reception of a lubricant, such asoil, adapted to be fed to the space between the leaves of the spring.

In use, the fixed jaw 15 is adjusted. to the .desired position in thebearing 11, and is then secured from movement by means of the lock-nut19. The yoke 11 is now placed about a spring A of the leaf type with theapex of the conical fixed jaw 15 between the edges of two adjacentleaves of the spring. The spring A is now clamped in the yoke byswinging the handle 22 outwardly to turn the lever 2O albout the post 12and bring the movable jaw 16 into contact with the opposite side of thespring A. As the lever 2O is forced around the pivot 12 the jaw 16 isforced at its straight-line edge 21 between the leaves of the spring A,and the latter is shifted laterally onto the tapering fixed aw 15.Pressure is thus equalized against the opposite sides of the spring A,and the jaws 15 and 1G bind with the same force between the adjacentleaves of the spring. When the lever 20 is swung into a'positionsubstantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the spring A,the straight-line edge 21 of the movable jaw 16, and the opposedrelatively flat faces of the jaw engage across their surfaces againstthe leaves of the spring A and thus hold the lever Q0 yieldingly frompassing in either direction beyond the center of-the pivot 12. Thispeculiar formation of the movable jaw 16 thus holds the lever 20 inlocking position and prevents it from accidentally swinging, byvibration or the like, in either direction to disengage the jaws fromthe spring A. A lubricant may now be poured or dropped -into theuppermost groove 25, and the latter guides the lubricant -to the chiseledge of the movable jaw 16 and there deposits the lubricant between theadjacent spread-apart leaves of the spring.

The terms upper andlower have been used in the above description withreference to the position in which the leaf spring spreader is shownin'the present drawing, and it is to be understood that the device willwork equally as well when inverted, or placed at any angle which isrequired for These grooves :25 exl tend to a considerable extent in theconthe application of the spreader to the leaf spring.

It is of course understood that various changes and modifications may bemade in the details of construction of the abovespecifically describedembodiment of the invention without departing from the spirit thereof,and being restricted only by the scope of the following claims.

I claim 1. A leaf spring spreader having a jaw adapted to engage betweenadjacent leaves of the spring, said jaw being provided in its exteriorface with an oil groove leading into the space between the separatedleaves of the spring and adapted to deposit a lubricant in said space.

2. Iii a leaf spring spreader, the combination of a body portion, anadjustable fixed jaw carried by the body portion, and a pivoted jawmounted on the body portion, said pivoted jaw having its spring-engagingend terminating in a relatively straight-line abutting edge extending atright angles to the longitudinal axis of the jaw, and lyingsubstantially in the transverse plane of the jaw, said straight-lineabutting edge being adapted for engagement throughout its length with aspring to yieldingly hold said pivoted jaw from swinging past centerwhen moved into engagement with thespring.

3. In a leaf spring spreader, the combination Of a yoke provided uponone end with a bearing, and having a post upon its oppositeend with anannular fiange at the base of the post, a set-screw adjustably mountedin said bearing, a lock-nut on said set-screw for engagement With thebearing to secure the setserew in adjusted position, said set-screwbeing provided with a tapering inner end forming a fixed adjustable jawfor engagement with one 'side of a leaf spring, a lever pivoted uponsaid post and having a handle upon one end and a wedge-shaped jaw on itsopposite end having relatively flat spring' engaging faces to yieldablyhold the lever from movement past center in either direction, and aclamping nut carried l on the outer end of the post and provided with anannular fiange adapted for engagement with said lever to hold the samebetween the flange on the nut and the flange at the base of the post.

1. In a leaf spring spreader, the combination of a yoke, a fixed jawcarried in one side of the yoke, and a pivoted jaw mounted upon theopposite side of the yoke and having a relatively straight linespring-engaging edge adapted for insertion between adjacent leaves ofthe spring, said movable jaw having an oil groove in its exterior faceleading to and interrupting said straight line edge, to providespaced-apart spring engaging shoulders to hold the pivoted jaw frommovement past Center in either direction, the outer end of said oilgroove terminating in an enlarged recess in the face of the jaw, toreceive a lubricant to be fed to 5 the space between the adjacent leavesof the spring.

5. A leaf spring spreader including a Wedge member 'adapted to beinserted between adjacent leaves of a spring, said member having in itsexterior face an oil groove l@ leading into the space between theseparated. leaves of the spring and adapted to deposit a lubricant insaid space.

ARTHUR E. FINERUD n

